Too much telling, not enough showing

I really hate to leave less than 4 star reviews but this is my honest opinion. The story fell flat for me. I didn’t find the characters interesting and just couldn’t get into it. By the 20th Page, I just couldn’t take it anymore. There was too much telling and not enough showing. Maybe it’s just a different writing style? Maybe something was lost in translation? It felt more like someone reminiscing about their aunt. I will say Aunt Poldi is someone I would enjoy in person. The good things about the book are how it does make you want to visit the place. I found myself envious of the characters and also the author. I would love to read a book by the author about his culture. I think this could be a really great book if a lot of the monotonous information were taken out and it didn’t take so long to get to the meat of the story. It has a great concept. And the cover is absolutely amazing! I’m sorry it fell flat for me and I wish all the luck to the author. Keep writing. I believe in you.